In the operation of any retail establishment, and particularly those in which the product for sale is displayed and made readily available upon shelves and within shelf tracks, it is important that restocking of shelves be effected before or immediately upon exhaustion of the product from the shelf. It is further most desirable that theft and other pilferage be minimized and that safeguards be implemented in that regard. Indeed, since product turnover equates to profit in most retail establishments, the ability to constantly monitor on-shelf inventory and product availability and capture data indicative of theft or pilferage is paramount. It is further desirable that such systems include the ability to alert the retail store management with regard to unusual activity, out of stock situations, or pilferage so that corrective action can be taken as soon as possible. The ability to monitor sales activities on the basis of day of the week and time of day is recognized as an important capability in order to enhance sales activities.
It is common in retail establishments that shelves be adjusted, moved, repositioned, or stocked with different products from time to time. Accordingly, the adaptability of retail shelf supply monitoring systems is key to effective operation. Over any course of time, the product available on any particular shelf, or the location of that shelf itself, may vary within the retail establishment. In many instances, these changes occur overnight, during periods of low public use, and yet any monitoring system associated with such a retail establishment must be capable of continuing effective monitoring throughout changeover. In order to accommodate shelf changes and rearrangements, the monitoring system should typically not be hardwired to the shelves or shelf systems, but should be modularized. Moreover, communication with a main control system or data acquisition location must also have minimal hardwiring. It should instead be able to accommodate various arrangements and locations within the retail establishment. In order to maintain the adaptability, and minimize hard wiring, such systems must be, for the most part, battery powered, thus entailing a design that minimizes power without sacrificing effectiveness and reliability.
There remains a need in the art for a system satisfying the criteria just presented.